Kentucky State Law Mandates Mission of Dept. of Homeland Security is to promote Religion

State legislators amended Homeland Security's religious duties to come before all
else, including such mundane matters as the distribution of millions of dollars in federal
grants and analysis of possible threats. What better way to counter warped religious fundmentalism.

Under state law, God is Kentucky's first line of defense against terrorism.

The
2006 law organizing the state Office of Homeland Security lists its
initial duty as "stressing the dependence on Almighty God as being
vital to the security of the Commonwealth."

Specifically, Homeland Security is ordered to publicize God's
benevolent protection in its reports, and it must post a plaque at the
entrance to the state Emergency Operations Center with an 88-word
statement that begins, "The safety and security of the Commonwealth
cannot be achieved apart from reliance upon Almighty God."

State
Rep. Tom Riner, a Southern Baptist minister, tucked the God provision
into Homeland Security legislation as a floor amendment that lawmakers
overwhelmingly approved two years ago.

As amended, Homeland
Security's religious duties now come before all else, including its
distribution of millions of dollars in federal grants and its analysis
of possible threats.

The time and energy spent crediting God are appropriate, said Riner, D-Louisville, in an interview this week.

"This
is recognition that government alone cannot guarantee the perfect
safety of the people of Kentucky," Riner said. "Government itself,
apart from God, cannot close the security gap. The job is too big for
government."

Nonetheless, it is government that operates the
Office of Homeland Security in Frankfort, with a budget this year of
about $28 million, mostly federal funds. And some administrations are
more religious than others.

Under previous Gov. Ernie Fletcher, a
lay Baptist preacher, Homeland Security interpreted the law at face
value, prominently crediting God in its annual reports to state leaders
and posting the required plaque.

Under Gov. Steve Beshear,
officials this week said they didn't know about the plaque until the
Herald-Leader called to ask whether it's still there. (They checked; it
is.) The 2008 Homeland Security report, issued a month ago, did not
credit God, but it did complain about a decline in federal funding from
Washington.

Thomas Preston, Beshear's Homeland Security chief,
said he isn't interested in stepping into a religious debate, and he
hasn't given this part of his duties much thought.

"I will not
try to supplant almighty God," Preston said. "All I do is try to obey
the dictates of the Kentucky General Assembly. I really don't know what
their motivation was for this. They obviously felt strongly about it."

There is no reference to God in Homeland Security's current mission statement or on its Web site, which displeases Riner.